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29 August 2025 | Story Igno van Niekerk | Photo Stephen Collett
One-Room Space
The UFS’ one-room spaces are designed to connect students and lecturers seamlessly across locations and borders.

The university is transforming education across its Bloemfontein, Qwaqwa, and South campuses with its pioneering one-room spaces, mirrored across all three locations to deliver cutting-edge, immersive learning. Research for these innovative spaces began in 2023, sparked by a photo from the University of Leuven in Belgium, which the university identified as showcasing Leuven’s advanced classroom setup. Prof Philippe Burger, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, leveraging a connection there, led a team to explore this technology globally, collaborating with Canada’s X2O OneRoom to make the UFS the first in South Africa – and one of (as far as we know) two in Africa, alongside Kenya – to offer such immersive classrooms.

Unlike Zoom or Blackboard, where online students were often overlooked as small icons, one-room spaces ensure that everyone feels included. Designed for postgraduate training and PhD interactions, these rooms accommodate up to 40 in-person and 40 online participants, with large video camera feeds on screens, reminiscent of the TV programme Small Talk, where children’s faces lined the wall for engagement. Directional audio and personal cameras create a sensory experience, with sound coming from the speaker’s direction and eye contact feeling natural. Angelique Carson-Porter from the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics shared her excitement about a postgraduate session led by Prof Aletta Olivier, Lecturer in the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies: “It feels like you’re right there, even from Pretoria or Ghana. You see everyone, interact, and never miss a beat.”

Gavin Coetzer at ICT Services, a key project leader, highlighted how lecturers struggled with older platforms’ limitations, often only addressing online questions at the end, disrupting the flow. The UFS’ one-room spaces, implemented in the UFS Business School, the Clinical Skills Unit, South Campus teacher training, and Qwaqwa, solve this with breakout sessions and global conference support. While other universities rely on Teams, the UFS’ user-friendly tech, with around 24 screens and ceiling microphones, allows lecturers to focus on teaching.

Staying ahead of tech trends is challenging, but the university is excelling, making education inclusive, engaging, and truly global.

News Archive

9-11 Julie 2007: Nursing Odyssey international conference
2007-07-04

The School of Nursing at the University of the Free State (UFS) is hosting its 3rd triennial Nursing Odyssey international conference from 9-11 July 2007 on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein. Odyssey means an exciting journey. In a dynamic profession such as nursing, the Odyssey is never ending or boring.

This year the focus is on caring. Although the conference addresses a wide variety of topics, special areas such as midwifery and wound care have been accentuated. Speakers from the United States of America (USA) and the United Kingdom (UK) will be deriving papers and workshops like:

  • Fetal monitoring - technology from clinic to consultant. A live demonstration will be given where a pregnant woman situated in a clinic will be linked to a system that sends information directly to a consultant who can then advise the clinic staff on the best treatment.
  • NVIVO is a computer based program that assists qualitative researchers to analyze their data. This two day hands-on workshop will enable researchers to implement the NVIVO program.
  • The role of hand washing in infection control is well known. A practical participatory demonstration will illustrate to nurses how they unwittingly spread germs.
  • Caring in a holistic way.
  • Assessment and continuing evaluation and documentation in wound management.
  • The rights of individuals to protect society.
  • Banishing burnout and compassion fatigue: Strategies for health care providers.
  • Non pharmacology pain relief.

Although there is a lot of focus on midwifery and wound care there will be something for everyone like workshops and papers on ethics, evidence based practice as well as student papers. With 17 workshops and more than 70 papers the delegates will be spoiled for choice.

There will be a photo session from 10:30 - 11:00 Monday, 9 July 2007.

Enquiries can be directed to Ms Desiré Smuts at 051 401 2965.
 

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